Live The Active Life

Here is the update of my weekly activity.  Sorry for the delay in getting the update out.  With the trip last week and the resulting extra work from the time off, I have been extremely busy.  I’ll summarize last week and this week in one post to catch up.

Cycling

Last week I rode Monday thru Wednesday and took Thursday-Sunday off.  I did mostly easy rides except for Tuesday which was an hour long hard ride.  After the 4 day break my legs were rested.  This week I’ve ridden every day so far.  I will take today (Friday) off them ride Saturday and Sunday.  I should end up with a little over 6 hours of riding this week.  Next week is the century ride on Saturday, May 3rd.  It will be a fairly tough ride as it has a lot of climbing in it (it’s called the Three State Three Mountain Century) so I will ride fairly easy Monday and Wednesday.  On Tuesday I will do a fairly hard ride where I “push” the hills.  I will do a very light ride on Thursday then rest Friday.

Healthy Eating

Last week was fairly good, even with the trip.  We ate pretty much meatless, low fat meals Monday-Wednesday.  We were out of town, Savannah Georgia (a great place to visit, especially if you are into history), Thursday thru Sunday and while we definitely had some “bad” foods we managed to do OK.  We ate a lot of seafood, steamed or boiled without butter as well as raw (Oysters, our favorite).  We did have a few more beers than normal and we had dessert a couple of nights (not normal).  Two of the meals were “southern style” which means lots of butter, cheese, and fried chicken.  The food was delicious and when I got on the scale Monday morning I was only one pound heavier than when we left!  We’re back to our normal, relatively healthy, menu this week.

Overall, we did well on our trip.  We walked a lot, ate well but didn’t gain (hardly) any weight.  The vacation was a much needed break.  Every once in a while you need to treat yourself.  This was one of those times.  What’s the point of living an active life if you never get to enjoy it?

I’m looking forward to next week with the century ride.  It will be a good challenge for me.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

This past week was another good week overall in terms of activity. I am really concentrating on “fine-tuning” my fitness for the century ride I will be doing May 3rd so weightlifting was not on the agenda again this week.

Cycling

This week was another good week for cycling. I rode 4 days with one of those days being another long ride.

• Tuesday- I rode outside on my regular loop but to mix it up a little I did all of the hills on the route at a fast pace.
• Wednesday- I rode for almost an hour and a half at a moderate pace outside
• Saturday-  I rode an hour long workout on the indoor trainer concentrating on keeping my heart rate in zone 3 (140-150 bpm)
• Sunday-  I rode another long ride of 65 miles on a fairly hilly course.

Total ride time for the week was just under 7 hours.  I feel like I am prepared for the century fitness wise.  My body will most likely be a little sore after the ride but I should get through it fine.

 Healthy Eating

This week was pretty normal in the area of food.  We did good Monday-Friday, eating our usual dinner menus.  For lunch I had Subway a couple of days, and some peanut butter and jelly a couple of days.  We use a whole wheat, high fiber bread for our sandwiches.  I managed to eat yogurt for mid day snacks as well as oranges and apples.  Overall, a good week food wise.

This coming week will be a little tough since we are taking a much needed long weekend that will include some good seafood as well as micro brewed beer.  I have planned for this in my training and am eating a little less at the beginning of the week to compensate as much as possible.

We’ll see how it all works out.  Stay tuned.

Lentils are a small member of the bean, or legume, food group. They are easy to cook, full of nutrition, and taste great. Next to black beans they are my favorite bean. I use them in soups and salads, as a substitute for potatoes or rice, and even as the main course in some of my meatless meals. As a matter of fact, lentils have been called “the poor man’s meat”.

Nutritious

Lentils are full of the good stuff. They are high in protein and fiber and have a good dose of vitamins and minerals. Here’s a quick breakdown for 100 grams cooked without salt (about 3.5 oz):

• Calories: 116
• Fat: 0 grams
• Carbohydrate: 20 grams
  • Fiber: 8 grams
  • Suger: 2 grams
• Protein: 9 grams

In addition, lentils are high in iron, potassium, and other minerals. For even more detailed nutrition information, visit NutritionData.com or Worlds Healthiest Foods .

Delicious

Lentils have a nice flavor and are great in vegetarian dishes, soups, soups and salads. They cook quickly and are inexpensive to buy and easy to store. Lentils really shine in Indian cooking where they have been used for thousands of years. Most of us have had Indian curries of which lentils are the main ingredient. I like to cook them up with some onion and garlic. I add a touch of olive oil and serve them as a substitute for rice. I also make salads with them by adding some cooked bell peppers, onion and garlic and chilling everything overnight.

Worth Trying

If you haven’t yet experienced lentils, give them a try. They are a great addition to the menu of anyone who leads an active life.

photo credit: JenWaller

This week was very busy once again so workout time was at a premium, especially during the week. Once again I concentrated on aerobic exercise and didn’t get any weightlifting in.

Cycling

This was my best cycling week so far this year. I only rode 4 days but one of those days was my longest ride in a couple of years. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I rode my usual after work route which can be anywhere from 10-20 miles depending on how much time I have. My plan was to ride long on both Saturday and Sunday but Saturday was cool and rainy all day. Sunday cleared up and a group of five of us went out and rode 67 miles on a nice rural loop about an hour away. This was my first time riding in this area and I will definitely be going back. The roads are in good shape, traffic is low, and the route is well marked. I got a total six and a half hours and a little over 112 miles in.

Weight Lifting

I didn’t lift for the 2nd week in a row and I might not lift for another week or so. My shoulder is still sore but a lot better than last week. I still need to see the Dr. That will be late this week or early next week.

Healthy Eating

We ate fairly well this week except for Saturday when we went to one of those Brazilian steakhouses where they keep bringing you all kinds of meat on a stick. We normally don’t go to places like this but we were with several other couples who wanted to go, so we went. It was really good but probably not real healthy (unless bacon wrapped chicken and beef can be healthy). I am a firm believer in “everything in moderation” so this meal took care of that for the week

Overall I was happy with the week. This coming week I will try to do another long ride to prepare myself for the century ride I will be doing May 3rd.

Stay active everyone and have a good week!

I have been extremely busy this week so I apologize for the delay in getting this weekly update out. My schedule is crazy right now and I want to update all of you on my progress with meditation. In light of my schedule and the desire to get some other posts out that might be more useful in the short term, I have decided to skip the next few weeks of meditation update posts and give you on BIG SUPER-DUPER final wrap up post after week 8 of the program. In that I will give my overall impressions of the program and let you know how I have done in the final 3 weeks.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my final review of 8 Minute Meditation